


Becoming the Mask

by CycloneRachel



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comfort/Angst, Developing Friendships, Disguise, Gen, One Shot, Season 4 Spoilers, mostly canon compliant though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 17:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16350788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: "I'm not Winn... unless... I am."Alternate take on the Alex and Brainy conversation in 4x01, taking one of Brainy's lines a bit more literally than was probably intended.





	Becoming the Mask

Querl didn’t know how he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

The original goal of the image inducer technology- originally developed in the 21st century by Lena Luthor herself, as he’d learned and was now seeing for himself- was to make an alien appear to those around them as the closest possible facsimile of their own form, except as the species they encountered. It was meant to be tailored for each person who bought it, transforming their image to suit their needs- and thus, wasn’t supposed to make them look like someone else.

However, that didn’t stop him from modifying his device to fit that purpose.

And, one evening when there was nothing to do in the DEO, that was exactly what he did.

His first trial run of his device’s modification comes when he takes the key to Winn’s apartment (that he left behind, and he can’t possibly imagine why he did so, as any number of agents could find it and use it to rob him).

Fortunately, he’s the first one to notice, and after assuming Winn’s appearance, he locates his residence and makes his way to it.

People recognize him, shouting his name along with greetings, and he answers, smiling and saying hello in return even though he knows none of their names. He tries to speak as little as possible, however, as he still has his own voice and it’s obviously quite different from Winn’s- even though he does his best to imitate it.

Once he gets to Winn’s apartment, without any issues, he finds some of Winn’s clothes- along with more toys than he expected from a man of Winn’s age.

It is ironic, he considers, as he spends hours where Winn once did, wearing his face and his clothes yet feeling more than ever like an impostor. He’d spent five months, cumulatively, in the twenty-first century, assisting the DEO and working alongside Winn, yet only now is he beginning to understand him, getting a full picture of who Winn was. He had read about Winn’s father, and what he’d done, before - but as he learns what Winn thought of him, through journals and interviews, he understands the effect he had on Winn, and even begins to relate to him.

He regrets not speaking to Winn about these issues, as he reads an article only two months old, about Winslow Sr.’s death. They may have connected, on a personal level, as Querl could have shared his own story- yet he cannot take Winn from the future, and he cannot change the past even more than it already has been changed.

By the time he’s finished reading, about all of Winn’s past- paying special attention to what Winn’s written about his friends, and the experiences they’ve shared together- and mentally catalogued all of Winn’s belongings, it’s too late to return to the DEO. So he sleeps in Winn’s apartment, still wearing his face like a mask- hoping it would help him to truly impersonate his friend.

The following days, he returns to the DEO, continuing to work alongside Alex under his traditional human appearance. He doesn’t dare rework his image inducer to make himself look like Winn, yet- not until he’s improved his impression.

When Querl next gets free time, he decides to seek out a place Winn had likely gone to several times- somewhere people would recognize him, yet if he acted unlike Winn, they may not be as suspicious as someone who knew him better.

So, some time after he first goes to Winn’s apartment, he finds himself in the closest comic book store to his location- though, as he nearly states out loud, Winn’s life already seems to mirror a comic book, thus, he has no need to read them. Instead he picks out a green plastic gun, identical to one he’s seen Winn use- hoping that Winn didn’t buy his own gun at this store.

(and, just for good measure, he stops by a burger restaurant on the way back, purchasing the largest soda he can buy. He’s seen Winn with similar beverages, and he can never imitate too few of his habits, after all.)

After his return to the DEO, and after he’s told by Alex that he is, to use her words, ‘grounded’, he decides on the circumstances of his final test.

And it is when Alex returns to the DEO, with Otis Graves in her custody, does she see him.

Or more accurately, see Winn there, standing near his chair. Drinking an extra-large soda, and once Alex does a double-take, sitting down in his chair like always, playing with the Nerf gun.

“Winn.” Alex says, slightly breathtaken. Like she can’t believe what she’s seeing, even though it’s right in front of her.

( _like she’s seeing a ghost,_ Querl thinks cynically. Which may indeed be the case, as unfortunate as that would be for the future)

He turns around in his chair, and no sooner does he get up than she hugs him, leaning in, resting her chin on his shoulder, burying her hands in his hair as her arms go around him.

Then, her hands travel lower, as she feels his hair, noticing something different about it.

Of course she does.

Querl should have known better, not to deceive her- but he did. He had to.

He had to test if she would know the difference, treating him disguised as Winn as if he were truly Winn- even though he’ll never be, and when he’s himself, she’s punishing him because he isn’t Winn.

And, of course, she figures it out, lightly tapping his forehead without a word in protest.

Querl’s Coluan form greets her eyes, as she steps back so he can see the tears in hers, while he reconfigures the image inducer to its original purpose.

“Brainy.” She corrects herself. “Why-“

“I apologize.” He says, returning himself to his original human disguise- though still in Winn’s clothes, as he knows she notices. “But… I analyzed our recent torrent of conflicts and I couldn’t find a common factor. I did things your way- wrong. I did things the Legion way- wrong. I did things my way- so very wrong.”

The Nerf gun accidentally goes off, though neither he nor Alex care at this point. He sets it on the table, knowing it’ll detract from his point, and continues.

“I just couldn’t win. And then I realized, that’s it- I can’t _win_ , because I’m not _Winn_. He was your… bro. I’m not him. Unless…”

He goes around Alex, as she slowly turns to face him.

“Unless I… I am.”

He reconfigures the image inducer once more, turning his image back into that of Winn himself.

“Once the idea came to me, to truly imitate Winn by conforming to his image, I did exactly that- fixed my image inducer, and pretended to be him, going to the places he frequented. His apartment, the comic book store, his favorite restaurant, and finally, the DEO. All believed I was him- but you figured it out. Figured me out. And I am still sorry. You seemed so happy to see him- yet I saw how quickly that happiness dissipated when you saw me for what I truly was.”

“I’m not… I’m not very good with change. I do miss Winn- a _lot_. And I guess in some ways, I have been punishing you for not being him, and that is… that’s not fair.”

“I understand.” Querl answers. “I miss my friends, too.”

“Ah, see, I didn’t even think about that.” Alex says. “How you left them behind.”

“Well, technically, they’re _ahead_ -“

“Right.” Alex says, closing her eyes, holding out a hand as if to physically stop him from speaking. “Yes. Look, either way, we are stuck with each other, so- no, I mean, that’s not a bad thing, it’s, it’s actually a good thing! You know, we… we just have to find our rhythm.”

“That I can do.” Querl says. “I’ve been told I have excellent rhythm.”

“Right.” Alex repeats. “But, from now on… just lose the sweaters, okay? And no more reconfiguring your image inducer.”

“Very well. Thank you, Director Danvers.”

“You’re welcome, Agent Dox.”


End file.
